1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to providing users with educational material and more particularly to an improved system and method that provides only enough educational material required to solve a real-world business need, where the educational material actually produces a project or contractual deliverable (as opposed to a simulated or stimulated example or model) product.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the largest challenges facing corporations today is the ability to keep its employees knowledgeable, not just on the specifics of their job, but also about the bigger corporation and the world in context. Traditional teaching and training methods center on the idea of imparting huge amounts of knowledge on a topic during a traditional in-class training session which lasts for days. This approach is problematic because the student may be learning too much or too little for their given position within the organization. In addition, the student may not be learning at the right pace considering the students"" level of competence, background and experience. Further the educational sessions can occupy employees for large periods of time (3-5 days). In addition, the educational sessions may not be given frequently enough to provide employees with information consistent with the corporation""s ever-changing business goals.
With the advent of computerized networks including the World Wide Web interface of the Internet, educational sessions can be given to employees on an individual basis. This allows the employees to partake of the educational session when it is convenient for them and at their own pace. However, conventional computerized educational sessions are sometimes nothing more than elaborate message boards or e-mail systems (for example see U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,446). The U.S. patents mentioned in this application are hereby incorporated by reference.
Other computerized educational systems simply provide education on a theoretical topic which may or may not relate to contemporary business needs of the employee. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,862 provides a system of transferring mentor experience over a network and U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,776 presents a predetermined course content; However, the educational content provided in these may not be specifically applicable to the employee""s current business need and may not be consistent with the corporation""s current business goals. Other network educational systems allowed direct or indirect contact between the students and the teacher (see the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,196,846; 6,201,948; and 6,074,216).
One example of a conventional networked educational system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,358 which provides an educational curriculum that is based upon simulated business problems and solutions. The educational system is highly tailored to the individual student and dynamically changes depending upon the students"" performance during the course. However, a major drawback of such educational systems is that the topic is entirely theoretical and is not necessarily applicable to a pending business need/solution. Therefore, there is a need to provide an educational system that is applicable to real-world problems and that is available to solve business problems as they occur. Further, there is a need for an educational system that consistently mirrors the ever-changing goals of the corporation. The invention described below provides such a system which operates in an efficient and user-friendly manner.
In view of the foregoing and other problems, disadvantages, and drawbacks of the conventional educational sessions the present invention has been devised, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure and method for an improved educational session.
In order to attain the object(s) suggested above, there is provided, according to one aspect of the invention a system and method for providing education that includes a database of educational material and a user interface. The problem statement resolved by the invention is as follows: A business practitioner is faced with the immediate need to xe2x80x9cprocurexe2x80x9d goods and/or services. There is no mentor or other physical assistance available to the practitioner, but they do have access to the worldwide web. The practitioner needs to understand the xe2x80x9cwhyxe2x80x9d (educational content) associated with the procurement they are about to make, as well as actually producing what will become a legally binding document. The format and content of the course produced document will change depending upon the goods or services being procured. When prompted by a user through the user interface, the system provides a specific educational session from the database that is directed to satisfying a present business need/solution (e.g., a need for a specific legally binding written document with a supplier). With the invention, the educational session produces a completed version of the legally binding written document. The user interface preferably includes a decision tree providing options for the user to select from different computerized educational sessions relating only to the present procurement need/solution. While the database includes educational material relating to many procurement needs/solutions, the decision tree limits user access to only those educational sessions relating to the present business need/solution. The database is continually updated with current educational information that corresponds to related corporate goals. Also, the specific educational session is preferably presented only to a single user and only when the procurement need/solution is presently pending.